Our Verdict

The Apex is a quality light that offers a very bright and high-quality spot beam, and a better than average close-proximity light. It is also differentiated by being waterproof to 1 meter. On the downside, it is fairly heavy with four AA batteries, and battery light was relatively poor when you use the bright spot mode. Princeton Tec also makes another version of this light, called the Apex Pro, which uses two lithium-ion batteries, and is a bit lighter.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison

Shown with spot light turned on

Trail Finding

This is one of the top scoring headlamps for trail finding with a score of 9 of 10. The beam is powerful and even over distance, especially when the batteries are new. It's on par with both our Editors' Choice, The Coast HL7 (8 of 10) as you can see in the beam comparison photo below and it's closest rival, Black Diamond Icon also 9 of 10.

Beam Distance Photos

Close Proximity

While the 7 score here is solid, this is where the Icon (9 of 10) and Coast (10 of 10) pull ahead. See the photo below against the icon. The Apex has too much intensity focused in the middle in close proximity mode. The Icon has a nice even beam.

Close-proximity Beam Pattern

Battery Life

The battery life score of 3 of 10 is low and highlights the key difference between the Apex and the Icon and you can see in this battery life versus being distance chart. Yes the Apex starts out with a more powerful beam, but in less than an hour it is down to the same power as the Icon. After three hours, we stop the clock for measuring high beam run time with the ANSI standard and the Icon carries on for antoher 5 hours. Learn more about ANSI in the Headlamp Review.

We did not measure low mode run time. The manufacturers claim 150 hours for the Apex, 200 hours for the Black Diamond Spot, 175 hours for the Icon, and 76.5 hours for the Coast.

Uses 4 AA batteries

Brightness

In high beam mode, the Apex shines and impressive ninety four meters. As mentioned in the battery life paragraph. This headlamp has a very impressive beam when the batteries are brand-new and outshines it's closest competitor, the Icon, which starts out at 80 meters. However, this brightness is not sustained. The beam immediately tapers down to match the Icon. While 94 meters is impressive, it well behind the Coast with a maximum beam distance of 128 m.

Weight

This is one of the heaviest headlamps tested banquettes just ate two of 10 score here. At 271 g, it is almost 20% heavier than the Icon and more than double the weight of the Coast.

You can reduce the weight with the Princeton Tec Apex Pro which uses lithium-ion batteries. That said, the Apex Pro is not THAT light and doesn't stack up that well against similarly priced competitors. It also requires 123 lithium ion batteries which are much more expensive and harder to come by.

Ease of Use

This does not have as good and ease-of-use score as its competitors because the button that clicks through the different lighting modes is not the most intuitive. It requires a lot more clicking then seems necessary. It is also difficult to use with gloves.

Value

At $90 this is one of the more expensive head lamps in the review. It is $10 more expensive than the Icon, which scores higher. It most than double the price of the Coast.

Conclusion

This light casts an incredibly powerful beam at first, but other than that falls behind the competition. The Black Diamond Icon is lighter, has a more even beam, $10 dollars less, and has a much longer battery life. The Coast HL7 is less than half the costs, half the weight and also has better batter life and beam distance.